Michael Strahan Leaving 'Live!' In Two Weeks, ABC Speeds Up Search For Kelly Ripa's New Co-Host

2 years ago

Michael Strahan’s departure from Live! will come sooner than expected. Although his new gig with Good Morning America won’t start until September, ABC is giving him the summer off instead of keeping on the show with co-host Kelly Ripa.

According to People, Strahan will work alongside Kelly for two more weeks, with his departure date set for Friday, May 13. ABC states that having him leave sooner than later was decided on with producers from both Live! and GMA and the search for a new co-host will start “immediately.”

The plan to move Michael’s departure date from September to May was determined to be the best for the future of both shows. According to ABC, two weeks is enough time for producers to give Strahan a “nice send-off” and GMA can “start integrating Michael into the show more” during the summer before he starts the position full-time in September.

Scandal star Bellamy Young, who was a guest on Tuesday’s Live!, talked about her experience on Jenny McCarthy’s Dirty, Sexy, FunnySiriusXM radio show, stating there was “tension” between Kelly and Michael backstage.

“Backstage there was some tension,” Young told McCarthy. “They [Kelly and Michael] weren’t talking ahead of walking on set hand-in-hand; it was sort of separate.”

Strahan first filled in as a Live! guest co-host on October 1, 2010 and was selected as Kelly Ripa‘s new co-host on September 4, 2012, almost a year after Regis Philbin retired from the show.